AMBLER, Pa. – Senior outfielder Tom Snipes reached base four times including three by hits as the Ursinus College baseball team fell to No.15 Arcadia 14-4 on Thursday afternoon.
 


The Bears offense came alive over the final four frames scoring four runs, but the lead proved to be too large in the non-conference matchup.


 
The Bears put a runner on first baseball in the top half of the first inning, but back-to-back strikeouts allowed the Knights to escape the inning. Senior righty Casey Murphy started the game on the mound for Ursinus and after allowing a lead off walk, he retired three consecutive batters to end the inning.


 
In the top of the second, the Bears got a rally going with a two-out single to rightfield from first-year Cameron Krugel and he advanced to second with the Bears first stolen base of the season. Ursinus put runners on the corners with two down as Krugel advanced to third on wild pitch allowing Thomas Pancheri to reach base via a walk. Arcadia's Hunter Curley got the Knights out of the jam with a swinging strikeout on Ursinus first-year Kyle Rosenfield.


 
The Knights added the first two runs of the contest in the second as with two outs, back-to-back singles allowed Ryan Smolen and Matt Donchez to score. Senior lefty David Kratz relieved Murphy in the beginning of the frame and struck out the final batter to escape the jam. Ursinus added two hits in the top of the third as senior Solomon Griffith led off with a single into centerfield to lead off the inning. Just three pitches later, the Knights turned a 6-4-3 double play to clear the bases. Snipes recorded the first of his three hits after doubling to right center field after facing an 0-2 count. During the next at bat, junior Jared Minnichbach flew out to centerfield as the Bears stranded their second man in scoring position.


 
Arcadia added some insurance runs in the third inning, behind four hits and one Bears defensive miscue the Knights increased their lead to 6-0 with four runs in the frame. The first four batters reached base, but the Bears closed out the inning with a 1-2-3 double play to escape further damage. Arcadia's Curley continued to keep the Bears off balance at the plate as he retired the first two men in the inning before ending the fourth frame with a punch out. In the bottom half of the inning, junior lefty T.J. Snyder came back out to the mound and retired the Knights in order in just twelve pitches. After a fly out to start the inning, Snyder recorded a strikeout and a ground out to keep the Knights lead at six.


 
In the fifth frame for Ursinus, Griffith and Snipes each walked to put runners on first and second, but a infield pop out retired the inning. In the bottom half, Arcadia added another insurance run to increase their lead to seven as Matthew Sot led off with a double to right field and after a stolen base, he would score on a fielder's choice. Snyder got out of the inning after stranding a Knights runner on second with a called third strike.



In the sixth, Ursinus would add their first run of the game as each of the first two runners reached base. Sophomore outfielder Keegan Stem led off the inning with a walk before advancing to third as senior Nick Diaz singled to centerfield. With runners on the corners, Krugel lifted a sacrifice fly to right field scoring Stem from third. The next batter, senior Thomas Pancheri reached base via a hit by pitch, but the Knights bounced back with back-to-back fly outs to left field to escape the inning. In the bottom half of the sixth, Arcadia answered with a run of their own as a sacrifice fly to right field made the score 8-1.


 
In the seventh, Snipes reached base vit a single to right field with one out, but a 5-4-3 twin killing double play ended the Bears threat. In the bottom half, Arcadia added two more runs as Emilio Pallante added a single to right field driving in one of his four runs batted in on the day. Sophomore pitcher Justin Simone relieved Snyder in the inning and needed just three pitches to retire the final batter via an infield pop out.


 
In the eighth inning, Ursinus added a run on a pinch-hit single from sophomore Peter Balos scoring first-year Will Kelly from second base. With two runners on, the Knights set down three consecutive batters in a row to end the Bears rally. The Knights added four runs in the bottom half of the inning to make the score 14-2 heading into the ninth inning.


 
The Bears started the final stanza with three consecutive batters reaching base. Sophomore Jakob Cantor opened the inning with a lead-off walk and Snipes collected his third hit of the day with an infield single. Sophomore Branden Melendez collected his first RBI of the season with a base hit into right field scoring Cantor from second base. The Knights closed out the contest with another double play and a pop out to end the game.


 
Pallante led the Knights offensive attack with three hits and four runs batted in while teammates Alex Madera, Michael Bukowski, and Matthew Sot each recorded two hits for Arcadia. Hunter Curley collected the win on the mound for Arcadia pitching five shutout innings while David Kratz was handed the loss after pitching 1.1 innings allowing six hits and five earned runs.
 
 
The Bears will return to action on Sunday as they travel to Stevenson University for a doubleheader starting at 11am.